Soarin’ is getting a major makeover in Disneyland and Disney World!
Breaking news!
In Summer 2026, Soarin’ in Disney California Adventure and EPCOT is getting a brand new “airborne adventure!” The new version of the ride will take you across the United States, “highlighting some of the country’s natural beauty and iconic cityscapes.”
Disney has shared that new “iconic elements” that make Soarin’ so famous will be included, like the flight, sights, music, and scents! Personally, we’re hoping to smell the orange groves again! They also shared photos of Disney Imagineers capturing “more than a dozen” new scenes.
©Disney
The newest version of the ride will be aptly named Soarin’ Across America! The new poster for the attraction shows off the Statue of Liberty, a flying eagle, and the American flag.
©Disney
They even brought back Chief Flight Attendant Patrick for the announcement! The limited-time “itinerary” is to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday.
The current iteration of the ride is called Soarin’ Around the World and takes you (of course) around the globe! It features stops in Paris, Brazil, China, Germany, Fiji, and more. The original version of the attraction was called Soarin’ Over California, and it debuted in 2001 when Disney California Adventure opened. That version of the ride typically comes back for a limited time during California Adventure’s Food and Wine Festival.
Soarin’ Over California
With all of the major changes going on in Disney World, this one definitely caught us by surprise! Disney also shared that more updates and behind-the-scenes looks will be revealed over time before the change takes place. As always, be sure to keep following DisneyFoodBlog for more Disney news and updates.
The Disney World Changes We’re DREADING in 2026
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At WDW, there are three Soarin’ “gates.” It would be nice if guests had a choice among “America,” “California,” “World.”
I love this!
How about soaring underwater? Cenotes, springs, coral reefs,shipwrecks, nemo…
Hopefully this will truly all be filmed at the locations and not have a bunch of CGI like the World one.
Regardless, exciting and surprising news!
This one sounds great! I never cared about the “World” one that much. I always hoped they’d do an “America” soarin’. I am wondering if they will do “California” next year againtoo. Hope so, love that one.
Interesting, finally a reason to visit Epcot that will be new and improved.
Tom and Lydia – Totally agree!!
I’ve felt the same way about Star Tours for years now – that different gates should have different programming. It’d be nice to have the option of selecting the original (“real”) Star Wars time period, prequels, sequels, Mandalorian-themed, etc. Most folks would still just take the next available gate, but it’d be nice to have the different program options.
This is a great idea!! My only concern is the phrase “limited time.” I hope it’s there long enough for people who don’t live in Florida or California to travel to see it! Although, the idea of having all 3 versions available via different gates at the same time sounds good to me too.
I would love to smell the orange groves again too!
That’s a great idea!
I absolutely love the smells with this ride. I agree. I think it would be great if there were a number of different ones (kind of like Star Tours or songs at Guardians), but I would be fine not knowing which trip I get. You could go from sea to shining sea, or get the “California” one, or aerial through the national parks, or set sail on Disney Cruise ships (which isn’t all about America but would be cool after our birthday in 2026). Wonderful!!
I like that this theatre is future proofed so that it can change films from time to time.
Would love to see in Pennsylvania: The Liberty Bell and The Betsy Ross House.
That would be so fun!
Unfortunately Sorin causes major motion sickness for me.